Aleta must've torn up the whole castle looking for Quillian. As if he was hiding and if she searched everyone's rooms and flipped the castle upside down, he would magically appear. I decided to stay in my room while she ran around to keep out of her way. She had already fought someone over them trying to stop her, and I wasn't stupid enough to try my luck with that. The sunset and I still had yet to change or cleaned myself up. I just sat in front of the shattered mirror on the ground in silence. I heard my door swing open and slammed against the wall. Aleta stormed in and started to tear my room apart; I let her. She flipped over my bed, tore through the wardrobe, pushed the books to the floor. Maybe this wasn't so much an act of searching for Quillian but the only way Aleta knew how to let out her nervousness and anger. I had destroyed an innocent mirror, and she took her feelings out on the castle. 

 "Are you just going to sit your ass on the ground or are you actually going to help?" She said, looking under the bed's frame. She turned so I could see her better and I noticed she had a large gash on her side that had blood dripping down her leg. She was hurt, and her first priority was to look for Quillian, was she crazy?

 "Aleta, you need to sit down." I stood up and walked over to her.

 "Cyra you need a bath," she pushed past me and went back to my wardrobe. I felt an odd sense that I needed to help her. I needed to get her to a healer; why? She destroyed so much why did I want to protect her? For the same reason I wanted to save Arksel, they weren't completely evil. No one was completely dark. Everyone had some light in them that could be saved. 

 "Oh, heck Aleta just sit down and let me get a healer!" I grabbed her arm and pulled her to a chair.

 "Did you just oh heck me?" she raised an eyebrow at me. 

 "Yes?" I cross my arms.

 "God, you remind me of my grandmother," she rolled her eyes and tried to get up again. I forced her back down.

"You're hurt Alerta. Running around the castle isn't going to make you any better. I am not telling you to stop searching, just pause for a brief moment so a healer can make sure you don't bleed to death," We stared at each other for a few moments.

 "Fine," she said defeated "But I will only go to one of Arksel's healers. I do not trust Aedin's magic to heal anything bigger than a cut," I smiled a bit to myself. I just won a fight against Aleta Burket. I didn't have time to bathe just yet so I just threw on my night clothes and picked the glass out of my hair before I followed Aleta to Arksel's room. She kicked open the door. I guess her anger has yet to leave her.

 "Aleta why?!" I asked 

 "You have to make a big impact on people, or else no one will listen to you," Aleta shrugged as she quickened her pace to Arksel's bed where he sat with a healer's glowing hands on his arm. Zydan had been right; except for a few unhealed cuts, Arksel looked completely fine. 

 "I need your healer," she said with a passive tone, which softer than the one she had been using on me just a moment ago.

 "And I needed you not to lose our only Majiey prisoner, Aleta," He ran his hand over his face before rubbing his temples. "Fine take her, I need rest anyways," Aleta left the room quickly and ordered for the healer the follow her. The healer looked between Arksel and me before hurrying off. 

 "You okay there, Fawn?" He asked 

 "Yeah, I am fine now that Aedin healed me," My leg still felt like it was barely keeping me up, but I could live with that. "Are you doing fine? You were closer to the blast."

 "I have felt worse things in my life," He slowly sat up. What could possibly be worse than being blow away by an explosion? I had never been in so much pain and confusion before. "I will be sending you home while I go to all the ends of the kingdom and finalize my right to the crown. The castle would be under major repairs so you will get in the way if you stayed here,"

 "Why wouldn't I go with you?" I asked. I watched as Arksel got out of his bed and walked over to a window.

"Once again Fawn you will only get in the way, I am only bringing Zydan if I brought more than that traveling would only be slowed. You should go now. I need rest," That didn't seem like a suggestion. He was giving me an order.

"Well, I hope travels go well for you, Arksel," He walked over to me. Taking my hand gently in his and kissed the back of my hand. 

"I will see you soon Cyra," 

The ride back to Majiey was a bit of an awkward one. The only other spy we had to drive us drove like a madman, so I was being thrown around the whole time. The extreme tension between Delaney and I just made traveling even worse. I tried to sleep as much as possible since it was my only form of escape. I was in a light sleep when I heard the screeching of the metal doors open, and the flood of fresh air surrounded me. I opened my eyes to see my mother staring at me from outside the transport. Her arms were crossed and eyebrows furrowed together. I was assisted out the carrier by the guard. I expected my mom to yell at me for going behind her back and risking my life. So when her arms wrapped around me, I was taken back. Delaney ran out saying that she had to go meet up with someone, but I zoned her out so I could focus on my mother. 

"I am so glad you are safe, god you have no idea how worried I was about you," I hugged her close to me and breathed in the familiar scent of her. She smelt like fresh linen and ginger. I felt a light smack on the back of my head, and I recoiled. My older brothers Taj stood there with a massive smile on his face. 

"You know, aren't the older brothers supposed to be the heroic ones?" He teased.

"Oh please, you were the one that made me get rid of all the insects that crawled around the house," he chuckled a bit since he knew I was right. I heard mother clear her throat.

"Harmony told me he wanted you to meet him in the roses?" My mother and brother had no idea what that meant, but I knew exactly what he was talking about. 

"I need to find Leillan first. I really need to ask her some questions," I took off into castle and asked my way around to her room. I needed to ask her about the second bomb, did she lie to me, or was she lied to? Did Leillan know people would get seriously hurt? That I would get hurt. I ran to her room expecting to see Leillan, just Leillan. But, what I did see caused my jaw to drop. Leillan and Delaney undressed entangled in sheets. 

"I- oh....I...well...I should go, have fun," I ran out of the room even though I heard Leillan calling after me. Her shouts got quieter and quieter the further I ran so I knew she didn't follow me. I clenched my fist and leaned against a wall. My body hurt, no it wasn't my body, it was my heart. I felt it being torn apart by sharp fingers and been replaced by a dark empty hole. The sight of Delaney touching Leillan's bare skin was making my skin crawl, what if felt wasn't anger or sadness but something deeper and more twisted. 

I tried to focus on what Harmony needed to say to me as I walked to the greenhouse. He knew about the bomb since it was his orders, so I needed to bring it up to him. Harmony sat among the yellow roses; he looked paler than usual and had heavy bags under his bright eyes. He wore a grey suit with a red tie that had brightly colored flowers stitched into it. He looked so tired, even the purple in his hair had begun to fade. He stood up when he saw me and pulled me into a tight hug, swayed me around a bit.

"It's good to see you again Cyra; I am sure Leillan is very pleased to have you back! I have no clue how you manage with her, she has almost set the kitchen on fire twice, and she likes to make announcements while standing on a table?" I closed my eyes when he brought up Leillan's name. I didn't want to talk about her.

"I am so glad to see you again too, Harmony, but I have to ask before you say anything. Why did you ask me to plant the bomb? And why the second one?" 

"Bomb? What bomb?" He stood up taller and looked at me with more concern. Did he not know? Leillan told me it was his order, he should know. If he didn't, should I expose it all to him? Possibly get Leillan in deep trouble. By the look in his eyes, he had no recognition about what I was talking about. 

"You tell me what you have to say first. Please, I promise to go after," After a few seconds of Harmony looking me over to see if I could crack and tell him he gripped my hands and guided me to the bench. 

"What I am going to tell you, it is going to be a lot, but please pay attention since we do not have much time," Harmony's voice sounded scared. He stood up and paced in front of me. The panic in me was about to peak. Was I going to be sent on a new mission? 

"Harmony," I said as I grabbed the corner of his sleeve to stop him from walking. "What is going on?" He sat down next to me again. 

"Cyra," he sighed, "Cyra Fawn Enaye, I-I am dying...I am dying, and I want you to take over the throne when I leave," I stood up and looked down at him. The shock of the news made it impossible to sit down or even grip a clear thought. I had no idea how to act, what to say, or even how to think. I felt so many emotions bursting within me. I felt so much that I couldn't control my reactions, so I began to laugh. Not a hard laugh but a soft bubbly one, I soon stopped, and everything went cold. My vision has never been clearer than in this moment staring down at harmony. I saw every eyelash that framed his light green eyes, the worry lines that had grown deep into his perfect chestnut skin. The scent of the garden started to overwhelm.  

"You're not dying, you're lying," Tears filled my eyes, but I batted them away. He wasn't dying, that was impossible! 

"I wish I were lying Cyra," He stood up and put his hands on my shoulders. There we stood. Face to face with the weight of his death sitting between us. 

"Well lie to me right now! Tell me you're going to live a long, long life and you will be right by my side as I struggle to function and we can talk every night among these roses, please lie to me," Harmony pulled me close to his chest, and I clung to his shirt. "You have healers! Get them to help you; I will force them to help you!"

"Healers can only aid in external injury or injury not caused my nature. Illness is something they have no skill in. My heart is way past, saving Cyra. They have fixed my outer appearance, but that is all they can do," He stroked my hair as I held back my tears. 

"You're not dying, and I won't take your throne," My eyes felt like floodgates that were about to explode. My body felt like it wasn't standing on solid ground. Like my feet were dangling in nothingness, and the only thing saving me from floating away was Harmony. 

"You are the only person who can take the throne if you refuse Sir Colway will and I hate that man with every bone in my body, you are the only person I trust Cyra. Please be my queen," His voice began to sound raspy and quiet, so I looked up to see a teary-eyed Harmony. A few wet lines on his cheeks glistened in the light. I reached up and wiped a tear away gently with my thumb. I needed to be strong right now, be strong for the both of us so he can be weak for a moment. I could do that for my friend, even if it felt like my life was falling apart around me. 

"How would I become queen?" 

"You would marry me, you would be Cyra Anwell queen of Majiey," I felt a sinking weight in my chest. Me, a queen, how has my life gotten me here? "And there is one more thing," Harmony took a deep breath "In order to be the queen you would need a power," 

"Well, I kinda sorta don't...have that, how can I be queen," 

"Do you remember when we first met, I said I felt something about you I only felt once before? You felt so pure and incomplete, like a puzzle missing the last piece. No matter had hard I search I could find no answer to the feeling I had. Until I thought of mother, she didn't have or need a power till my father died. She had that feeling about her; she was missing a piece," 

"When my father was on his deathbed, he was able to transfer his power to her. She gained the ability to manipulate light and became the ruler until she passed," I felt so lost. This was all so much information coming at me; I felt out of breath from trying to keep up. 

"So you want to marry me, give me your power, and make me the queen of Majiey," I had to sit back down on the bench. Everything inch of me felt tired. 

"Cyra I know this is a lot, but I know you can do it. You are so strong, you do not see it but trust me. I would not offer this to anyone else even if I had the choice to," He sat down next to me and took my hand. "You are handling all this so well If you need to leave, I understand. I expected you to run away and never look back; I know I would," 

"What would happen if I didn't accept this? If I didn't accept being queen or your powers?"

"Sir Colway would take over, and he would rule how Vinick does. The only goals in mind gaining power and defeating all that stand in his path," Could I do it? Could I, a simple maid from Recline, become a queen? 

"When would this all happen?" I looked up at him. I needed time to think. 

"We would do the wedding and power transfer tomorrow, I only have tomorrow," I had no time. It was not enough time to time over my decision and not enough time to be with Harmony. Even though we just met, he had quickly become someone I couldn't live without. Now I was expected only a meer day with him. Harmony needed me to be queen, the kingdom, and all that made it good needed me to be queen. I need to be strong, stronger than I had ever been. Harmony once said I would take the world by storm, now was my time to rise to that. 

"Okay..I'll do it, I will take the throne, I will be your queen," 

"I will ask you properly now," I felt Harmony get up and kneel in front of me. His eyes locked onto mine. His eyes were still glassy from tears and hands shaking from fear as he took out a small green box from his pocket. He opened it to reveal a ring like none other; it has a silver band with soft pink jewels all the way around until it connected to a large yellow gem that was shaped into a rose, it was so beautiful I had to stare at it for a moment. 

"Cyra Enaye, will you do me the greatest honor you could ever give me, will you please marry me? Marry me and become my queen," his voice was brighter than before, but my heart still ached for him.

"I will marry you and be your queen Harmony Anwell,"

{Things are seeming to only going more downhill for Cyra! How would you deal with the news of Harmony dying if you were her? Would you take over the throne?}